Some types of conventional surgical implants can have one or more reduction tabs extending therefrom. Conventional spinal anchors, for non-limiting example, typically have two opposed reduction tabs extending proximally therefrom. The reduction tabs of a surgical implant can be used in implanting the surgical implant, and then the reduction tabs can be broken off the implanted surgical implant to reduce a clearance height of the surgical implant, which can help prevent the surgical implant from damaging tissue and/or other material adjacent to the implant.
However, conventional devices used to break reduction tabs can only be used to break a small number of reduction tabs, typically one or two, before the device must be reoriented so that an opposite end of the device can be used and/or be removed from a patient and cleared of the broken tab(s) to break off another small number of reduction tabs, typically one or two. It can therefore take a significant amount of time to break all reduction tabs that need to be broken in a surgical procedure, as tens of reductions tabs can be needed to be broken in a single surgical procedure.
Some conventional devices used to break reduction tabs off of an implanted implant cannot retain the broken reduction tabs within the device, thereby leaving broken reduction tabs loose within the patient that need to be removed from the patient prior to ending the surgical procedure. Conventional broken reduction tabs are relatively small, which can make them difficult to retrieve in a patient. Further, since numerous reduction tabs may be broken in a single surgical procedure, it can take a significant amount of time to retrieve all of the loose broken reduction tabs. While some conventional devices used to break reduction tabs off of an implanted implant can retain the broken reduction tabs within the device, only a small number of broken reduction tabs, e.g., four or less or two or less, can be retained within the device before the device has to be replaced during a surgical procedure with another device to break and retain more reduction tabs and/or the device has to be removed from the patient and unloaded of broken tabs before being used to break more reduction tabs. It can therefore take a significant amount of time to break all reduction tabs that need to be broken in a surgical procedure, as tens of reductions tabs can be needed to be broken in a single surgical procedure.
Accordingly, there remains a need for devices and methods for breaking and retaining surgical reduction tabs.